When Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on Jan. 20, all of this "change" we’ve been hearing so much about will be measurable by a number of factors: His race. His persona. His vast departure from the policies of George W. Bush and his superior ability to form a complete sentence. But perhaps more than anything, we’ll be able to measure that change by the fact that seminal indie rockers Ted Leo and Tortoise (plus a handful of other performers who are not quite as hip) are headlining a big inauguration bash in Washington D.C. the prior evening, because let’s face it—that SO would never have happened for the Bush Administration!

From Pitchfork: "Ted Leo and author and journalist Thomas Frank (The Baffler,What’s the Matter With Kansas?)scribe [SIC] are the newest names added to the Big Shoulders Ball: Chicago Celebrates Change, which is brought to you by venerable Windy City venue the Hideout and arts-minded political activators Interchange. Frank will MC the event; Leo will presumably play rock music. Chi-town heroes Andrew Bird, Tortoise, and others will also celebrate at the January 19 gig at Washington, D.C.’s Black Cat, too." Of course this news comes as no surprise since all the cool kids, so to speak—ScarJo, The Decemberists, The Arcade Fire, Morrissey, The Boss, etc.—have been behind Mr. Obama for awhile now. But nonetheless, it does make us feel a little better about having lived through the past eight years! More info on The Black Cat’s Web site.